The noble and most ancient house of Black
by Lilyclio
Summary: post ootp. This is the story of how Sirius and James became friends. Chapter 2 up! James and Sirius finally meet!
1. Default Chapter

OK, I just had this idea for a new fanfiction. This is basically how the hell did Sirius turn out to be a good guy with the family he has. Enjoy!  
  
I'm always looking for beta readers, the more the best.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, neither does the Warner Bros, JK is the real genius here. Consider it said for the rest of the story.  
  
On with the story.  
  
**************  
  
Young Sirius Black was walking in Diagon Alley with his mother. He had been there since 8 o'clock that morning, and knew he would still be there late at night. For most people, being Hogwarts stuff didn't take very long, but the Blacks didn't care. They wanted to make sure everybody knew their eldest son was going to Hogwarts. As it turned out, it really worked. Sirius was sure his mother had talked to at least 15 people since the beginning of the day, and that was saying something, seeing as it was only 10 am. His feet hurt, his back hurt, but he knew better than complaining. His father had spent an entire hour the previous night explaining him that he was a man now, and he had implied he was expected to act as one. Sirius was pretty sure that hurting everywhere after walking for two hours was not his father's idea of "acting like a man".  
  
Sirius sighed as his mother stopped to talk with a witch he didn't remember ever meeting. This day was never going to end.  
  
"Oh my God!" the witch said like she had seen a white elephant walking down Diagon Alley, "This is Sirius! He grew up so much since I last saw him! How old is he, now?" she asked, as if Sirius wasn't there.  
  
"He's eleven. He's entering Hogwarts this year."  
  
Sirius already knew what was going to happen. They were going to talk for fifteen minutes, during which he would be supposed to smile stupidly, as if standing in Diagon Alley talking to a woman he didn't know was his idea of a great morning. He wasn't going to let that happen one more time.  
  
"Mother, while you are talking with this charming lady, couldn't I just go to Mrs. Malkin's to go my school robes? It would save you the bother to have to sit and just look at me for half an hour."  
  
"Oh, isn't he such a gentleman!" the unknown woman said, "My son would never propose such a thing. He would just run off in the street to play without asking anything!"  
  
Sirius knew that his mother was going to say no, because his proposal meant they were actually going to save time. Therefore, he blessed the unknown woman. If it meant he was a better gentleman than her son, his mother would without a doubt let him go.  
  
"Of course, Sirius, dear," she said with a forced smile, "You may go right now."  
  
Sirius ran away without need to be told twice. He couldn't believe it. This was as close to freedom as he had ever been. He might actually get to MEET people! He didn't know anybody outside of his family. When he was about 4, he didn't even know there was a world outside his family. And now, he was off, all alone in Diagon Alley.  
  
He found Mrs. Malkin's shop and entered. Nobody was there.  
  
"Hello?" he called.  
  
"Hang up a second, I'll be right with you!" a voice said from the back of the store.  
  
Very soon, a woman of about 35 entered. She had a very usual, yet rather pretty face. Her hair was curly and rather short. Her eyes and her hair were exactly the same color, light brown. She was rather thin, but not scrawny. She smiled at Sirius when she saw him, and her eyes smiled as well.  
  
"Uh," Sirius said, not sure what to say to someone he just met, "Nice to meet you. Are you Mrs. Malkins?"  
  
"No, I'm not, young man. I'm her assistant, Anita Potter, but I'm sure I can help you anyway. What can I do for you?" she asked.  
  
"I'm here to get my Hogwarts robes," he answered, his confidence back.  
  
"Well, in this case, you're in the right place! Will you please follow me in this room, I'll take your measurements."  
  
Mrs. Potter led him in a small room and made him stand on a chair. Sirius felt pretty stupid, and was sure he would have been embarrassed with anybody else, but this woman had the gift to make him feel very at ease.  
  
"So, what's your name, young man?" she asked.  
  
"Sirius Black."  
  
"Really? I heard about your family a little bit."  
  
"Well, most people have. There's a bunch of people who seem to know me, but I don't know any of them."  
  
"What do you mean?" she asked, really interested.  
  
This was entirely new to Sirius. Never before had anybody seemed to care what he thought, and this woman he didn't know talked to him like she never talked to anybody more interesting before.  
  
"My parents are a bit overprotective, and I never get to meet any people. See, this is the first time they let me go in a store on my own."  
  
"Well, your parents are some very lucky people. My oldest son wouldn't ask me before leaving, he always seems to do whatever pleases him. He's a pretty good student, so we forgive him about everything he does, but he still worries me sometimes."  
  
"Is he going to Hogwarts?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Yes, he's going in forth year. He's a Ravenclaw. My second son is going to Hogwarts for the first time this year, you might meet him."  
  
"What are their names?" Sirius asked, eager to hear from people he was going to meet.  
  
"The oldest one is Harry, and the one your age is James. I have a third son, but he won't go to Hogwarts anytime soon. He's just 2. His name is Inigo."  
  
"Inigo? I didn't even know it was a name!"  
  
"Well," she said with a smile, "it wasn't until I invented it. See, the two first times after I gave birth, I was completely out of it, so my husband got to name them. He gave them so common names, it drove me insane. So when Inigo was born, I was perfectly fine, and my husband was away, so I got to name my son whatever I wanted!"  
  
Sirius laughed.  
  
"Well, my first name is not Sirius, it's William. Sirius is my middle name. There are so many Williams in my family, it's driving me insane. My name is actually William Black the fifth, so you can imagine. But hopefully, my middle name is Sirius. It's a family tradition to give kids a star as middle name. The star is supposed to protect us, then. I don't know if it protects me, but I like it as a name, so I just use it."  
  
Sirius didn't mention how he had had to make up a legend that said that the star would protect him better if he use its name as usual name to convince his parents to call him Sirius. He like Mrs. Potter a lot, but she didn't nee to know everything.  
  
"You are one interesting young man, Sirius Black," Mrs. Potter said, laughing. "You probably will meet James this year. As for us, we're done! You don't need to pay, your family has a permanent account in our store."  
  
She led him back to the door.  
  
"Bye Mrs. Potter! Hopefully I'll see you before going to Hogwarts!"  
  
He ran back to his mother. She was just done talking with the unknown woman, and Sirius was relieved. If he had kept her waiting, his father would have been pretty angry at him.  
  
The rest of the day went pretty much as it had started. Sirius didn't find a way to escape his mother one more time. She had made it pretty clear that if he ran off again, he might not eat that night.  
  
That night, in his bed, Sirius checked his countdown again. Only 12 days left until Hogwarts. That night, though, he had one more reason to wait. If James Potter was anything like his mother, Sirius was sure they would get along pretty well.  
  
The last thought he had before going to sleep was to wonder if Anita had talked to her son about Sirius. 


	2. Hogwarts Express, part 1

OK, I finally keep going with this story. Sorry, it took me forever, but I'm very busy right now.  
  
Thanks to all my reviewers.  
  
On with the story.  
  
**************  
  
"Now, Sirius, I hope you'll make us proud. Remember, avoid at all costs the mudbloods and Gryffindors. I bet you will make and excellent Slytherin."  
  
Sirius inwardly sighed at his father's speech. "I bet you will make an excellent Slytherin". How could he be so wrong about his own son? Sirius had never shown the slightest sign of dislike towards any muggle borns (but that was also probably because he never met any). He didn't plan on going to Slytherin either. After hearing Mrs. Potter talking about her son in Ravenclaw, he had asked more details about the houses in Hogwarts. His parents had promptly answered that the only decent one was Slytherin. That made him decide he'd rather go anywhere else.  
  
"So, we're leaving now. Make us proud. And don't forget to owl us tonight."  
  
"Bye Father, bye Mother."  
  
Without a good-bye, his parents turned around. Sirius looked at his watch. The Hogwarts Express was due to leave in half an hour. He wished he had parents that would stay all the way until the train left, but then he perfectly knew his parents would never do that.  
  
His parents had had at least the decency to check that he was comfortable in a compartment, so he left his trunk behind and went wandering on the platform. The animation there was unbelievable. Wizards and witches were running everywhere. Owls, cats, rats and frogs were racing.  
  
Coming close to the entrance to the platform, Sirius witnessed a strange scene. Standing next to the entrance was a breathtaking beautiful girl, about his age, with red hair and sparkling green eyes. She was looking around the platform in awe, and didn't see a boy coming after her. Before Sirius could yell a warning, the boy with messy black hair ran into her with his cart. The girl turned around and started yelling at him. Sirius thought she was wrong, since she had been standing in the wrong place, but then anybody running into such a beautiful girl should be partially wrong, too. The argument ended with both of them turning around. Sirius smiled. They were probably still both thinking they were right.  
  
Sirius turned around, and went back to his compartment. There were more and more people on the platform, and he was afraid somebody he didn't like would get into his compartment. He noticed with relief that his trunk was still the only one there. He sat, and started to wait for something to happen.  
  
There was a spider web in the corner of the compartment.  
  
A first year was almost crying because she was scared.  
  
Someone swore in the hallway because he couldn't find an empty compartment.  
  
This was when Sirius got tired of waiting for something to happen. He looked outside the window, and saw the same boy with black messy hair looking for a compartment. Behind him was another boy who was just a copy of him, a little bit older. And behind this one.  
  
"Mrs. Potter!" Sirius yelled.  
  
"Sirius! It's so good to see you! How are you doing?"  
  
"I'm doing great, how about you?"  
  
"Well, it would be a lot better if those two," she motioned towards her sons, "would have woken up a little earlier. Now, we're late, and it's impossible to find a free compartment."  
  
"Mom," the older boy said, "I don't need a free compartment. I'm telling you for the hundredth time, my friend are just over there."  
  
"I KNOW that, Harry, but I don't want James to be alone, and he's going to be completely lost if he goes with you and your friends. You're going to tease him to no end, I know it."  
  
"Mom," the other boy, obviously James, said, "I don't need a baby-sitter. I can find other first years, and I'll be fine."  
  
Mrs. Potter was going to answer, but Sirius cut in.  
  
"I'm sure James could come along with me. There's nobody in my compartment yet. Besides me, that is."  
  
Mrs. Potter sighed and rolled her eyes.  
  
"OK, fine, you win. Now get in fast, the train is going to leave."  
  
They put James's trunk in the compartment, while Harry ran to his friends' compartment to put his there. He came back right when a whistle rang.  
  
"OK, boys, be good. I don't want to hear from you until Christmas - that doesn't mean you're not writing, Harry, it means, I don't want your teachers to write. Understood, James?"  
  
"Yes, Mom," James answered, kissing her on the cheek.  
  
"No problem, Mom," Harry added, kissing her. "If he messes around, I'll filter the teachers' mail, and you won't hear about it."  
  
"Harry!"  
  
"Bye, Mom," he said, laughing, as the train started to take some speed. "See you at Christmas!"  
  
Mrs. Potter sighed, barely hiding a smile, and waved in direction of her sons. Before she was completely out of sight, Sirius heard her last words.  
  
"Bye Sirius! Take care of my sons!"  
  
Sirius smiled. That was the best moment of the day, so far.  
  
"So, young men," Harry said, turning around, "It is time for me to leave to join my merry men."  
  
"Go away, Harry," James said, slightly punching his brother.  
  
"Nice to meet you, Sirius," Harry said, finally closing the door.  
  
James and Sirius eyed each other for a few moments, wondering if the other one was going to speak first.  
  
"So," James finally said, "You're that guy my mother met in Diagon Alley, right?"  
  
"She talked about me?" Sirius said, his day even brighter now.  
  
"And not only a little. Since she came back from work that day, she keeps talking about how well-behaved you were, and how much she likes your name, and how cool it would be if you met, and how she hopes you won't turn like the rest of your family.  
  
"What do you mean, 'The rest of my family'?" Sirius cut.  
  
"Well, you're a Black, right?" James said, as if that explained all.  
  
"Yes, and?"  
  
"Well, in two words, my mother can't stand your family," James stated.  
  
"That was seven," Sirius replied  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"That wasn't two words, it was seven."  
  
"Oh. Sorry," James said, taken by surprise by Sirius's grave voice.  
  
Sirius started to smile.  
  
"I was just kidding, mate," he said. "I know my family isn't great. And I also know that you were being rhetorical."  
  
"Oh. Sorry," James said again. "It's just. You looked so serious."  
  
"That's because I am always serious."  
  
James frowned, wandering what was going on.  
  
"I'm kidding again, man!"  
  
James thought about it for a second, and started to laugh, finally getting the joke. He looked at Sirius almost in awe. Sirius himself couldn't believe he was being so outgoing. On any normal day, he would have been scared to say more than his name, and today. He was being completely different, but then, he felt like he was really himself. He wandered for a few seconds if he felt relaxed around James only, or if the thought of going to Hogwarts away from his parents was the real cause. He inwardly shrugged. Why did he care? This day was excellent and there was no point in wandering why it was so good.  
  
"Why doesn't your mother like my family?" Sirius asked, more to start a conversation than because he cared about the answer.  
  
"It's just that anytime they come to the store, they're being very obnoxious. They don't care about her, since she's just an employee. When Mrs. Malkin comes, they're at least being halfway decent, but even then, you can see they don't care about shop keepers. They never even bothered asking my mother's name. That's why she was so impressed when you told her you were a Black."  
  
"Whoa. I didn't know my family could be such jerks," Sirius replied.  
  
"Not to bother you, but my father thinks the same. He has to deal with them quite a lot, too."  
  
"What's your father's job?"  
  
"Oh, he works at the ministry," James answered, slightly blushing.  
  
Sirius opened his mouth to ask more, but seeing James embarrassed, he stopped himself.  
  
"What house do you think you'll be in?" he asked instead.  
  
"I dunno. Anything but Slytherin, I hope. I don't know what my parents would say if I ended up there."  
  
"Mine would be pretty happy, but I hope I won't be there anyway."  
  
"Where do you wanna go?" James asked.  
  
"I don't know. I don't to go to Slytherin just because my parents told me it's the only decent house, and I usually disagree with my parents. I don't know much about the other houses."  
  
"Slytherin is known for being a house where most people practice dark arts. They hate muggle borns, and everybody who happens to disagree with them. Besides Slytherin, there is Gryffindor, Hufflepuffle and Ravenclaw. I would very much like to go Gryffindor. It's the house for the braves. My brother's a Ravenclaw, cuz he's very smart. I couldn't go there, I don't like to work that much. Hufflepuffle wants loyal people. It doesn't sound bad either, but I would like Gryffindor better," James concluded.  
  
Sirius looked out to the window. They were out of London by now. What would happen if he didn't go to Slytherin? Exactly how angry would his parents be? And if he did? How would he handle being with people he couldn't stand for five years?  
  
**********  
  
That's it for today! Next chapter should come a little faster. I had writer's block, but now I know what I'll do next. It will probably be the Hogwarts Express, too.  
  
I'm looking for a beta reader for this story! Candidates, tell me in a review if you're interested, and don't forget to leave me your e-mail!  
  
Thanks to all my reviewers!  
  
Ajuxliapose- Sirius and James are, of course going to get in trouble, but I'm not very good at making things fun, so I don't know what it'll look like.  
  
Courtjasnluvr87- there you go! Here's chapter 2!  
  
The Wolf Child- Of course Sirius is a decent person! He'll always be to me!  
  
Invader-Leeah777- Thank you! I'm sorry, I'm very bad at titles, but if you have any better ideas than me, tell me, and I'll change it!  
  
Beatty- There you go. James and Sirius met in the Hogwarts Express! 


End file.
